John Cusack, Matthew Broderick were offered 'Breaking Bad' lead role

The '80s are full of bizarre casting choices that never came to be -- I still wonder how Eric Stoltz would have done as Marty McFly in Back to the Future -- but this news just bowled me over:

Both John Cusack and Matthew Broderick were once offered the lead role as Walter White on AMC's Breaking Bad. And both turned it down, says the Hollywood Reporter. Of course, the role would eventually go to Bryan Cranston. But it was a hard sell at first.

"We all still had the image of Bryan shaving his body in Malcolm in the Middle," a former AMC executive told THR. "We were like, 'Really? Isn't there anybody else?'"

No word on why Cusack and Broderick passed. I could see Cusack pulling it off perfectly. Broderick did show he darker side as a teacher in Election, but Ferris Bueller Is A Meth Dealer? Hmmm.

About this blog

Relive the '80s music, movies and culture with Tampa Bay Times correspondent Steve Spears. A teen during the greatest decade ever, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to big hair.